Video Books

I have read many books on filmmaking and I have a film school degree (from CalArts, as it happens, where Mackendrick once taught). You can't learn filmmaking from a book or from school, only by making films. Nevertheless, "On Film-making" comes as close as any book I've ever found to explaining precisely and beautifully the work of a film director. Whether you want to make films or are simply a film fan, this book will be an immensely rewarding and illuminating experience.

Great book by a great filmmaker and a great teacher. Anyone serious about how to create meaning in the cinema by using the "grammar," the form, should read this book. Ditto for the creation of story along classical lines --

Too intelligent to be a director, to make compromises in the craft of film making with the studio system of his time, Alexander Mackendrick only left us a glimpse of his own potential in his body of work. He did however pass his vision and passion for creativity onto the next generation in his teaching. In this book his voice is loud and clear, without being dogmatic. It's like having a drink with a friend in a bar and having him sort out all your problems with scripts, actors and life. No director should be without a copy. From the beginner to the established star everybody can find something in this book and all conveyed in the manner both intense and unpatronising that was uniquely his.

When Sandy MacKenrick told my CalArts MFA Thesis committee that my thesis film script was, "long, much too long, and very much too long" and, "doomed to never be completed", I was shocked and terrified.

Sandy was one of the most brilliant and irritating people ever to tell a story or to browbeat an egotistical young film student. His films and lectures convey that contradiction -- his every work is a pearl.

If you were not lucky enough to get Sandy's notes while at CalArts, you must buy this book.

Odds are good, you won't have the genius of Sandy MacKendrick, but you will appreciate how much you could grow as you strive to attain what he found so simple.

I was proud to invite Sandy to the first screening of my thesis film, "Pirate's Dagger", and it still hurts that he was too ill to attend. I wouldn't have gotten it done without his special form of encouragement.

Unlike most how-to directing and writing books, Mackendrick was an accomplished director with decades of professional experience. He speaks from hard-won experience, not dubious armchair notions of what makes a successful film or director. He is wise enough to know there are no "secrets" or immutable laws of storytelling, only rules of thumb. Every time I go back to it, I learn something new, and with every film I make, I am struck by points in the book which ring ever more true. This book will not make you a great director by reading it, but Mackendrick has the good sense and candor to know that a book or a course never will, only lots and lots of hard work and dedication.

Although I have been reading a lot of documents related to OpenCable, I was looking forward to a comprising work, where all was coming together. That book is now available. The good structure and well managed balance between the bigger picture and the details makes this is a very interesting book for a wide audience in the North American cable community.

No kidding. Michael Adams has taken very complex technical subject matter and crystallized it in a conversational, easy-to-read manner, injecting personality and humor to make the text thoroughly enjoyable. Very refreshing approach to material that is usually inaccessable to non-engineers. Highly recommended for anyone in the broadband networking arena. Calculus is not a prerequisite!

The opencable industry has great promise and potential. In its early formative stage, various industry participants (hardware and software developers, service providers, cable MSO engineers, etc.) really need and will benefit greatly from this book.

Michael Adams has done a great job of pulling together various information pieces in a coherent framework in an understandable and easy to read manner: history, rationale, process, market and technical details of the OpenCable architecture; current status and future direction. I recommend this book highly.

Satish Thatte, Director, Product Management & Standards LG Electronics Research Center of America Princeton Junction, NJ

If you need a way to get employees, vendors, customers or anyone else up to speed quickly on how cable television networks are being re-designed for digital and interactive services, this is the book for you. It clearly and concisely covers the widely varying technical issues involved in designing broadband systems. I think it will a handy reference tool to both technical and non-technical readers.

Although I have been reading a lot of OpenCable documents, there was a wish to have a book that gave the overview and connected the pieces together. That book has now arrived. I can recommend it to all that like to have more knowledge on digital cable and the overview of opencable.

Phantasmagoria is a great game,I definely say get this one,it might be alittle older,but since its release four years ago,I havent found a better game yet!

I borrowed this game a year ago when it was extremely popular, and ever since when I've wanted to buy it, I can never find it. This game frightens me and it explores the topic of evil very deeply. Although this is extremely gory, you cannot deny the fabulous graphics, great story and great gameplay. One of Sierra's best games. Don't play it in the dark and make sure to explore everything. Everytime that you play it, you discover more frightening things inside the scary house. This game would make a spectacular motion picture and it should probably become one. If so, it would be one of the scariest films in movie history. I love it. If you see it, buy it. You'll worship its significance.

Phantasmagoria will keep you on the edge of your seat the entire way through. Sierra Studios has spoiled me with their interesting games and exceptional graphics. I've been playing Sierra games for about 20 years. I have some of their first games. I like Phantasmagoria because it's so life-like, you'll feel as if you're in the game. Buy it, you'll be glad you did.

This is the best game i've ever played. The characters, the story, the manson, the music..... it's just perfect. I wish the music would come on an audio CD, 'cause it is so beautyful, and yet so... frightening, my bestfriend gets the creeps just by the music. The actors are great, I don't understand why some people say they're not and well.... It is just a perfect game. BUY IT TODAY!

Phantagmagoria, what can I possibly say about phantasmagoria....perfect, that's what this game is. Phants. has all the feel of a good B-grade horror movie, a haunted house, demonic posession, evil magician, sex, violence, gore....the list goes on and on. Visually, the game is stunning, (especially for 1995!) it is very long and involving, not too challenging, but not too easy either. This game single-handedly began a series of other horror games: (very similar graphically) Harvester, Gabriel Knight2, Phantasmagoria 2, ect., ect. Phantasmagoria is a great game EVERY PLAYER OF PC GAMES MUST PLAY PHANTASMAGORIA!

Being a film buff, and the latest Phantom of the Opera now my favorite flick, I wanted to garner some history of the various film adaptations and this was very interesting.

This is THE MOST comprehensive book to date on the 1925 film, 'The Phantom of the Opera'. It has countless articles, interviews, facts, newspaper clippings, screencaps, photographs, etc. Amazing. 'Nuff said.

Shame on the editor of this book! The incredible research that went into this book is belittled by the fact that it is not very well written. Spelling and grammatical errors abound in this otherwise-excellent volume. This is the only book I own from this series; I sincerely hope that these problems were absent in other titles.

Other than that, I can say that this is the definitive book about Chaney's Phantom. Facts in this book are repeated in the "ultimate edition" 2-disc DVD, which includes the best-they-could-do of the 1925 original, which eluded the original authors of this book.

Regardless of my own personal pickiness, if you are a fan of silent films and/or Chaney's Phantom, please get this book. It's a wonderfully immersive read.

I had thought Riley's work on MagicImage's THE BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN was the be-all end all coverage of a classic film until I'd picked this up. And just like the other reviews have stated, this is comprehensive and *THE* book on the original Phantom whether for casual interest or serious study. It's like compiling EVERY single article that you've seen or heard of on the film into this one rather large compendium. Forget Famous Monsters (Devil rest its soul) . This ... is serious and you will walk away with a new appreciation for the craft that was involved in creating this and other old films. Yes, the pressbook is here, scripts, interviews and other insights to this film that would otherwise be lost. There's a ton of stills that are quite rare and just as rarely seen. The pressbook is just incredible, being a total movie-promo snapshot of times gone by. It was cool to see, albeit small, a shot of Chaney and his wife (!) showing up at the premiere. There are scene comparisons betweeen the releases via text and pictures (the unmasking scene) as well as visual reconstruction of scenes deleted from the movie premier that none will ever see in moving form (likely) EVER again, but here, we see them sequentially by way of actual stills, adding some understanding as to why the reissue is oftimes a confusing flick. Another really welcome part was the overview of Chaney's changing makeup throughout the film to accomadate the drama. This is the first time I think I've ever seen a commentary (AND with photos) on what I'd noticed while watching the film, at least one this thorough. But here, stills illustrate the changing nose, forehead, cheekbones, and totally puts into perspective Chaney's mastery of the medium that he'd worked in and what he was trying to convey with these changes. If you want in-depth, this is it. If you are a Chaney Phantom geek, this is it. Pick it up, and don't think about it too long, since this will likely go out of print and be a pain to find, much like the BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN edition. If you're serious about Chaney, also check out LON OF 1000 FACES, by Forrest J Ackerman, which is a rerelease of the title, that just came out (9/03). It provides a VISUAL/PHOTOGRAPHIC overview of Chaney's films that would be a good companion to Riley's or any other Chaney book. That one draws from Ackerman's massive stills collection, ...

THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA (1925) is one of the most famous silent films ever made, and this book follows the making of the film from beginning to end. Riley starts with the story of the Paris Opera house, Gaston LeRoux, and the novel. Then he follows the complicated production, with problems over Lon Chaney's participation, many rewrites, previews, and re-edited versions. When sound films came along, it was re-cut and opera sequences were added. This book has reprinted the entire pressbook, the original script, plus sections of the different script versions. Riley interviewed heroine Mary Philbin and several of the technical crew-members for this book. If you are a fan of Lon Chaney Sr., you will want this book.

The end, on post-production, is priceless. Especially the material about adding the score. But I think Louis B. Mayer comes out as the true hero, because of his skill at balancing commercial and artistic considerations.

Lillian Ross's books "Picture" and "Portrait of Hemingway" were listed as two of the top 100 best-of-the-century works of Journalism compiled by 36 judges working under the aegis of New York University.

Lillian Ross made her name with this New Yorker series about a half century ago. It was startling in its cynical and very humerous view of the self important and self delusional power players at MGM. With all that we have learned about this industry during the intervening 50 years the story has lost much of its potency, but is still a classic of the genre.

I read it in its original form all those years ago. It was a wonderful and hilarious read. But the protagonists, of course, were extremely upset and hated it. Happily,Lillian has survived; still writing for New Yorker.

Lillian Ross has given movie fans and those with a serious interest in film an extraordinary book about the final days of the studio system--and shows exactly why it collapsed. A few years later the independent film-maker emerged, and another book details that experience. Interestingly enough, both books deal with Audie Murphy. Like the Ross book, A THINKER'S DAMN by William Russo recounts the foibles of movie-making, this time in Saigon with Joe Mankiewicz in 1957. Each provides a timeless impression of a bygone movie era.

Lillian Ross, a writer for the New Yorker, heads to Hollywood in 1950 to watch John Huston make his next picture, "The Red Badge of Courage" at MGM, and manages to capture a horrifying snapshot of the studio system at its worst during a difficult time of transition for the film industry. She happens to be on hand to see Louis B. Mayer forced out and Dore Schary installed as studio head while the film is in mid-production. There are several scenes of Huston grinning and bearing it as Schary pompously lectures the great director of "The Maltese Falcon," "Treasure of the Sierra Madre" and "The African Queen" on how to make a movie. Schary pompously cites how he "solved story problems" in several of his own stodgy, now-forgotten pet projects as producer, like "The Next Voice You Hear." In one hillarious scene we see Arthur Freed, MGM's great producer of musicals, playing yes-man to Schary, and we glean, perhaps, how Freed, by appeasing the new boss, managed to keep some autonomy for his own expensive production unit through much of Schary's cost-cutting reign.

Then come the ill-conceived (or deliberately rigged) sneak previews. This serious war drama is screened at a local theater for an audience that came to see a Ginger Rogers romantic comedy, and the audience response is... (surprise!) vociferously negative. They find the film depressing, and many walk out. The old adage that new executives try to kill the projects put into the works by their predecessors may apply. Schary uses these preview results to justify having the movie re-cut while Huston is out of the country working on another film.

Anyone who suspects that there never was a golden age of Hollywood without inept executives and corporate committees will enjoy this book. You wonder how anything good ever gets made. Cynics will chuckle, film lovers will just shake their heads in sorrow. Of course, there is that other adage about not wanting to see how the sausage gets made...

I paid for overnight shipping and did not recieve the product for 3-4 days. The product was in great condition though. Very pleased with the book itself, just not my waste of money on shipping!

A very highly recommended instruction guide and reference work for filmmaking students and aspiring filmmakers, Practical DV Filmmaking by Russel Evans (Film, Video and Multimedia Lecturer, internet broadcasting advisor and freelance writer on video production) is an informed and informative guide to minimal-budget film making, including all of the diverse "tricks of the trade" involved in the production a marketable film. Enhanced with an accompanying CD, Practical DV Filmmaking is sure to enable even the most novice filmmaker to attain a mastery of the filmmaking process for the low-budget end of the entertainment or documentary market.

The book itself is excellent and answered most of my questions. The depth of the book is in the supporting material. So many internet links to great content can take you months to read if you wanted to spend the time. Very intelligent in the layout. It gives you exercises to complete before you go to the next step and the exercises are designed to get you to know yourself as film maker and to get to know your equipment and tools (ie limitations). This book goes a long way in helping you realize yourself as a DV film maker.

This book is just filled with great advice for newcomers to video/film making.

It fully meet my needs as a starting point to clearly layout basics that one needs to take into consideration not start out blind, it really saves you time by focusing on the esential quickly.

It also helps by defining many concepts one perceptivelly understands or thinks one does.

I have bought several of the cinematography/videography books on top of the "must have" lists and by far, this is the one I can hardly stop reading.

Highly recomended, go for it, you will not regret it.

The CD included is of very little value, trial versions of software and transcripts in Word format instead of a nice multimedia just sucks.

Next time Mr Evans, have your editors work harder if they want to "include" something.

Include printable forms like storyboards and frames with the thirds rule and alike with real practical value for begginers.

Maybe spreadsheets with basic calculations...be creative, the files included are very boring, more so after going through such an entertaining and educational book.

This book is fantastic. Evans outlines everything from the direction that audio waves are received depending on which external mic is used, to the compression rate for web movies. The book is incredibly up to date, as it should be considering it just came out. The set up of the book is very much like the 'for dummies' series, considering that there are projects along the way for you to undertake to sharpen your skills, along with info and ww link boxes. Most other books out there just outline what you need to do but don't tell you how to do things. This book really tells you what is going on when your making a film, and just doesn't say, if you do this then the picture will look pretty. He gets technical, and that's what needs to be said to give people getting into this a better understanding of what they are doing . He starts off with a great intro, for those who are just getting into digital filmmaking it really outlines what needs to be done to succeed. He identifies each technical aspect that he is going to cover, and then goes on to explain how you need to get to know your camera. Its obvious that a ton of research has been put into this book, as it really tells you everything you could possibly need to know. If you buy this book first then there really is no need for any other book out there. I've read this book cover to cover 1 time so far, and plan on reading it 2 more times.

This book goes a long way in explaining why there was so much written about the Wild West and why so much embellishment took place.Throughout history there has been all kinds of spins put on the people involved and what really occurred.Why would anyone expect anything different during the expansion of the West,particularly after the Civil War? In dramatic times of history,be it the Wild West,WW2,Crime in Chicago etc.people are craving for an understanding of events as well entertainment,and that is what we are given by the writers and the media.
Personally,I enjoy both the factual as well as the fictional
aspect of these times.
One character who often appears in books is Ned Buntline.He was a real person by the name of Edward Zane Carroll Judson,and this book does a pretty good job of telling us who he was and some of the things he did.Somebody must have written a book on him;it would be a good read.

This book was a welcome source of information on the Carson & Miller families whose genealogy I have been researching. Michael Wallace did an excellent job of getting his historical facts straight and offered some additional resources for my search for family history.

The easy style presented an engrossing story of a family moving through history from the 1850's to the 1930's and adjusting (not always easily) to the changing moores of society.

My father was a cousin of the Miller Bros. and told us children stories of his childhood in Oklahoma and attending the shows at the 101. My sister & I recently visited the old 101 ranch site and were sad to see that little is left. The Miller house in Winfield, Kansas is still standing in beautiful condition and is a private residence.

Michael Wallace is an excellent storyteller. The book gave life to my genealogy and made me feel in touch with the characters and the times. Anyone with an interest in western history would enjoy this story of a dynamic family who helped shape our images of the old west.

One terrific book -- a majestic recreation of the figures that helped define the old west and western entertainment.

Readers lacking a sense of irony may be dismayed to discover that the Real Wild West was only loosely hitched to reality. Spurred by the imaginations of Charles Miller and his three sons, our perception of what is the west sports the distinct brand of the 101. Take heart, though, because on the Miller Brothers' 101, the west was most certainly wild.

Possibly outlaws and certainly mavericks, the Millers rounded up some legendary talent to work their ranch and perform in their touring shows. The 101 herd of entertainers included Geronimo, Will Rogers, champion cowgirl Lucille Mulhall, Annie Oakley rival Princess Wenona, and such film legends as Tom Mix, Buck Jones, Ken Maynard, Yakima Canutt and Hoot Gibson. Black cowboy, Bill Pickett, famed for inventing the rodeo event steer wrestling spent a long career at the 101, and Buffalo Bill Cody spent his final year with the outfit.

While tooling a longstanding image of the west with their Wild West productions, the Millers also saddled up to motion pictures, oil production and an outstanding crop and livestock operation. Their story is a rodeo itself, made all the more interesting by the hints that white hats did not cover the heads of all of the 101 cowboys and cowgirls.

When the last little doggie was wrangled on the 101, the Miller Brothers' legacy did not ride off into the sunset, but continues to stampede through the dreams of would-be cowpokes everywhere. I'm not a regular patron of movie theatres, but I cannot wait until this saga makes it to the big screen!

If you like history and the stories of the old west, buy this book. I really enjoyed it.

I have been a die-hard Horror Fan since I was a kid, so when I bought this book I was very surprised to see aspects of the genre not readily covered by most horror books. It speaks of the 19th century influences on the genre, and also doesn't dwell on only the slasher flicks of the 60's onward, and the author writes everything in a very easy manner, nothing too difficult to understand. All in all, a very fun read, and a great intro. to people interested to find out more about the genre.

The various Rough Guides to movies that have come out over the past couple of years have been hit-or-miss affairs. While not perfect, the Rough Guide to Horror Movies is definitely more on the hit side.

As with the other Guides, this book is divided into several sections, including a brief history of horror movies, a listing of icons of the genre, a look at horror in other countries and various reference sources. The centerpiece, however, is The Canon, an alphabetical look at the top 50 horror movies.

As usual, this list is debatable, though some more than others. Certainly few horror fans can debate such choices as Frankenstein, Cat People, Dracula (both the Lugosi and Lee versions), the Exorcist, Nosferatu, Suspiria or Halloween. Other choices, on the other hand, would get more argument, at least from me: flicks such as The Plague of Zombies, Switchblade Romance (a.k.a. High Tension) or Witchfinder General (a.k.a. The Conqueror Worm). Not that these are bad movies (even Switchblade Romance - which suffers from a trite plot twist - is not awful), but there are, I think better choices out there. What about Invasion of the Body Snatchers, 28 Days Later, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (the Fredric March version), Children of the Damned, The Masque of the Red Death or Jesse James Meets Frankenstein's Daughter (just kidding on this one)?

Everyone's tastes will vary, so I don't fault author Alan Jones on his choices, as he does not put forth a good argument for his choices. There are little flaws here and there - missed or incorrect plot points, for example - but generally, this is a worthwhile reference book. Even if not perfect, it gives a good overview of the genre and will give most fans a chance to read of movies they were unaware of.

Reading this book is like shopping while hungry: everything will look good to you. You'll come away from this book with several dozen films you want to see, many of them foreign. Great trivia, like the line 'Don't step on it, it might be Lon Chaney.' (He was apparently known for his commitment to creature effects in the days before CGI).

This is really a remarkably good overview of horror cinema. It offers a variety of information (historical, filmographic, aesthetic, cultural) which is organized to encourage casual or random browsing but also very readable from cover to cover. The background chapter on horror literature is particularly informative. No special theory is offered; some otherwise excellent horror film books take an overly-specialized perspective, but you won't have that problem here. The genre is taken seriously, but the fun of it is always kept in view. Many very fine (and some rarely seen) photos grace the book throughout. I only noticed one "blooper": in the sidebar on Barbara Steele, Fellini is reported to have "cut her out" of his film "8-1/2." However, when I saw it recently, Babbara was beautifully present in one important scene. Otherwise, this is a very well-done volume and is heartily recommended.

The book is richly informative, presenting a broad vision of American and British horror films, along with a copious amount of horror's international kith and kin. The format is exemplary, as the book is chaptered into sections that provide a linear discussion of the horror genre on the one hand, and a browsable-friendly approach on the other.

Briefly beginning with the literary and celluloid origins of horror, the author, Alan Jones, introduces his canon of 50 seminal horror films that stimulated the genre to new heights. This is a section to be revisited again and again, and while some of his inclusions may arguably be open to debate, the entries provide much to think about and discuss. The remaining, very browsable, chapters include the icons of horror, the global picture of horror films around the world, and a wonderful information section that gives details on film festivals and conventions, books and magazines, and websites the reader may wish to explore further to broaden his or her horizons on cinematic horror. (http://zomboscloset.blogspot.com)

There are books written by people that have never made any movies at all and there are books that are written by people that HAVE made movies. This is a book about the second case scenario.

This is essential reading for someone interested about what its like to get your movie script up and running and produced, all the ins and outs of the movie business you need to know about. Its a no nonsense approach to the business end of movie making, nothing more and nothing less. It is brief and easy to read and gives your purely the facts. It is not some etherial, hypothetical and theoretical conceptual model of what someone thinks the movie business might be like, it is cold hard facts by someone that has done the business, writing The Thomas Crown Affair and Bullit as his major calling cards.

Only minor drawback was that some of his writing is a little hard to understand I think because he is using coloquial lingo that Im not familiar with because I dont live in the same street as him, but regardless of that it was a good quick read.

Well recommended, gives some illuminating insights into the movie world everyone wants to get into.

My best friend gave me this book for my birthday. I'm an aspiring screenwriter and needed to get all the insight I could into the business. This book is great. Buy it!

When you think of great screenwriters, Alan Trustman is right up there on the top of the list with the Goldman Brothers and Ron Bass. This is a great book. Trustman doesn't beat around the bush. He tells it the way it is for better or worse. I couldn't recommend this with any more enthusiasm.

Two of my favorite films are "The Thomas Crown Affair" and "Bullitt." Alan Trustman wrote both of them. How lucky we are to have a screenwriter of this ilk share his thoughts on the business with us. It's a great read. I recommend it highly.

This is the only book of which I am aware that describes truthfully the economics of the business and the way it is structured to keep out everyone, and particularly the waves of talented young people who flood to Hollywood every year, hoping to make it in the business.
It is written for the benefit of those kids, so they will understand what is going on and what they can do to crack the magic circle fame and fortune A-list.
Unless you know what you are walking into, you are doomed, no matter how talented you are, unless you are unbelievably lucky, and no one in his right mind should bet his life on odds which are that stacked against you.
Don't let anyone you care about go to Hollywood unless they have read it...

Sherlock Holmes was the first pop icon of modern times, and Sherlock Holmes On Screen provides the most comprehensive filmography of his career, analyzing the Holmes movies and television shows, and including 60 photos as well as a guide to Doyle's original stories. An excellent companion for any avid fan.

There are no words which seem to adequately describe just how good SHERLOCK HOLMES ON SCREEN: THE COMPLETE FILM AND TV HISTORY by Alan Barnes is: The word "comprehensive," while accurate, just doesn't seem to go far enough.
A lifelong Sherlockian I purchased this handsome 288 page hardback updated edition with high hopes and I was not disappointed. Barnes decision to take an A to Z organizational approach may not be everyone's ideal, but he does provide a film and television chronology towards the end of the book to appease those of us who prefer that type of listing.
As the title indicates every film and television appearance by the Sherlock Holmes character including a number of which I was previously unaware. Barnes gives more behind the scenes production notes, details of the mysteries and the solutions and in some cases these are quite extensive. For example I found the details behind the Peter Cushing television series of Holmes adventures fascinating and entertaining and his notes on what it took to bring SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE DEADLY NECKLACE to the screen, entertaining and revealing. Who knew that the movie had been intended to be the start of a franchise - with the script for the second planned movie eventually being filmed as A STUDY IN TERROR with John Neville in the Holmes role.
Barnes even includes movies and television episodes with more questionable ties to Sherlock Holmes. He gives high praise to Disney's animated THE GREAT MOUSE DETECTIVE but the Spielberg produced YOUNG SHERLOCK HOLMES fares less well. In addition there are entries for the two STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION episodes that featured Prof. Moriarty and even THE LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN gets a mention for its Holmesian references.
With listings that include not only alternate titles for the movies, but also surprisingly in depth cast listings, running times and some very rare photo's, this volume is a must-own for any self respecting Sherlock Holmes fan, and anyone with even a mild curiosity about the character.

If you are a fan of more than the Basil Rathbone and Jeremy Brett Sherlock Holmes episodes, this is a great item for your bookshelf. Barnes has written the most comprehensive guide to Holmes in film and on television. The amount of information is amazing. Boookend this with David Stuart Davies' graphically gorgeous Starring Sherlock Holmes and you'll have a fantastic reference library on Holmes on screen.

Bob Byrne
Sherlock Holmes on Oxford Lane

Being a Sherlock Holmes fanatic induced me into purchasing this for my collection in the hopes of obtaining some new images of Rathbone, Richardson, and other Holmes actors. I also had an interest in learning the up-to-date status of each Holmes film ever produced. In that, this is a wonderful book, filled with pages upon pages of information, cast listing, and comments, as well as some rare images of aforementioned actors.

The personal bias of the writer is the only thing that dampens a wonderful experience... namely because I tend to disagree with his assessments of certain Holmes films, particularly those of Basil Rathbone in his later career. I wished there were more images of Ian Richardson and Nicholas Rowe, but all together it's a wonderul purchase to add to any true Sherlockian collection.

This book has yet to leave my bedside table since I purchased it a few months ago. It's not only an extremely well researched book but a very entertaining read as well, packed with information that is revealing (eg, how Jeremy Brett's personal problems impacted upon the Granada tv series) and sometimes surprising (eg, Peter O'Toole and Peter Sellers were the original choices for Holmes and Watson for Billy Wilder's 'The Private Life Of Sherlock Holmes').

Alan Barnes and his fellow contributors go into great detail about the films and television shows they cover, and give their personal opinions about each entry. You may not agree with all of the views expressed, but they are well written and certainly give the reader food for thought.

The book is well illustrated with black and white photographs. This is important as it's likely that many people will never get to see the films they are taken from, particularly some of the early silent films that are lost or older and more obscure films and television shows that have yet to get a video or DVD release.

This book has proven invaluable to me as it has introduced me to tv series and films that I previously knew little or nothing about like the Arthur Wontner films and the Douglas Wilmer and Peter Cushing BBC tv series. I also gained an insight into the little known Ronald Howard tv series from the 1950s. It was also great to read of the BBC 4-part presentation of The Hound Of The Baskervilles starring former Doctor Who star Tom Baker as Sherlock Holmes. I saw this when it was first shown on tv in Australia and it hasn't been screened again, so it was quite nostalgic to read about it and see a photo of Baker in his Holmes costume.

This book is an essential addition to the library of any Sherlock Holmes fan or film buff. You won't find another book that covers Sherlock Holmes history in film and television so thoroughly.